Sea Launch has successfully completed its return to flight, lofting Eutelsat-3B into geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The mission comes more than 15 months after the failed launch of Intelsat-27 on 1 February 2013, when the hydraulic power supply unit of…
Sea Launch has successfully completed its return to flight, lofting Eutelsat-3B into geosynchronous transfer orbit.
The mission comes more than 15 months after the failed launch of Intelsat-27 on 1 February 2013, when the hydraulic power supply unit of the Zenit-3SL’s first stage suffered an anomaly.
The success is a great relief for Sea Launch as it is its only launch this year and will provide a springboard for the company to bid for new launch contracts.
Sergey Gugkaev, Sea Launch’s CEO, told SatelliteFinance earlier this year that the company is looking at carrying out four launches per year, which would see it break even. He said that the company has not been able to achieve this for 2014 and does not expect to do so in 2015, but is optimistic for 2016 when Sea Launch will be presenting its dual launch capabilities with the AngolaSat and Energia-100 satellites.
Gugkaev also pointed out that Eutelsat has an option for another launch.
Commenting after this latest mission, Eutelsat chairman and CEO, Michel de Rosen, said: “We are delighted to see Eutelsat-3B on its way to 3E and thank Sea Launch and Energia for this flawless launch.
“Eutelsat-3B will be a powerful asset to our in-orbit resources, enabling us to increase the operational flexibility and reach we provide customers in a vast service area spanning Brazil, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.”
Based on Airbus Defence and Space’s Eurostar E3000 platform, Eutelsat-3B has a tri-band configuration with 51 C, Ku and Ka band commercial transponders. The satellite will replace Eutelsat-3D, which will subsequently be co-positioned with Eutelsat-7A at 7E to provide expansion capacity and enhanced in-orbit security for data, telecoms and video markets in Europe, Turkey and Africa.
